Efficient conversion of orbital Hall current to spin current for spin-orbit torque switching
Lee S, Kang MG, Go D, Kim D, Kang JH, Lee T, Lee GH, Kang J, Lee NJ, Mokrousov Y, Kim S, Kim KJ, Lee KJ, Park BG (2021)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2021
Journal
Book Volume: 4
Article Number: 234
Journal Issue: 1
DOI: 10.1038/s42005-021-00737-7
Abstract
Spin Hall effect, an electric generation of spin current, allows for efficient control of magnetization. Recent theory revealed that orbital Hall effect creates orbital current, which can be much larger than spin-Hall-induced spin current. However, orbital current cannot directly exert a torque on a ferromagnet, requiring a conversion process from orbital current to spin current. Here, we report two effective methods of the conversion through spin-orbit coupling engineering, which allows us to unambiguously demonstrate orbital-current-induced spin torque, or orbital Hall torque. We find that orbital Hall torque is greatly enhanced by introducing either a rare-earth ferromagnet Gd or a Pt interfacial layer with strong spin-orbit coupling in Cr/ferromagnet structures, indicating that the orbital current generated in Cr is efficiently converted into spin current in the Gd or Pt layer. Our results offer a pathway to utilize the orbital current to further enhance the magnetization switching efficiency in spin-orbit-torque-based spintronic devices.
Involved external institutions
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Korea, Republic of (KR)
Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI, Forschungszentrum Jülich)
Germany (DE)
University of Ulsan / 울산대학교
Korea, Republic of (KR)
Korea, Republic of (KR)
Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI, Forschungszentrum Jülich)
Germany (DE)
University of Ulsan / 울산대학교
Korea, Republic of (KR)
How to cite
APA:
Lee, S., Kang, M.-G., Go, D., Kim, D., Kang, J.-H., Lee, T.,... Park, B.-G. (2021). Efficient conversion of orbital Hall current to spin current for spin-orbit torque switching. Communications Physics, 4(1). https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42005-021-00737-7
MLA:
Lee, Soogil, et al. "Efficient conversion of orbital Hall current to spin current for spin-orbit torque switching." Communications Physics 4.1 (2021).
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